Missing California hiker found alive after 9 days lost in Sierra Nevada

The woman was found Saturday morning in a remote area of the Sierra National Forest after she used a whistle to get the attention of a search and rescue team who were looking for her. (Photo: Reuters) A woman who was stranded in the rugged Sierra Nevada for nine days while suffering from some broken bones survived by using a water filter to drink from a creek, authorities said.A 62-year-old woman who vanished while hiking in California was found alive Saturday — more than a week after she was separated from the group she was traveling with, police said.

Sheriff’s officials said Harwood had been injured and stayed in the same area during the course of the nine days, without food, surviving on water she filtered from a nearby lake. Harwood was airlifted to a hospital to treat an unspecified injury sustained on Aug. 20 when she got separated from a group of hikers near Horsehead Lake, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Fresno.

The Sacramento Bee reported that a friend of Harwood’s, Curtis Hendrickson, said the outing was the first time she had hiked with the group, but he described her as “ a very knowledgeable, experienced backpacker.” Sierra Club Program Safety Manager Todd Duncan said in a statement that the group is “overjoyed” that Harwood was found. She did not know any of the people she was hiking with, but her family told police that she was an experienced hiker, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. Several local agencies, the California Office of Emergency Services and the California National Guard were involved in the aerial and land search for Harwood. The search was initially hampered by smoke from a wildfire, called the Rough Fire, which began July 31 and was burning about 10 miles away from the search area.

Mims warned that hikers should not separate from their groups and stay away from trails with hazardous conditions. “Especially right now with the fires going on, now is not a good time to go up into that area.